Going back to clean, healthy source

The Hindu
organic stalls: People at the food stalls put up during the mela held at
Anna Park, United India Colony, Kodambakkam. Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

India for Safe Food and Safe Food Alliance have been setting up organic food melas in various cities.

It is said things come back in full circle and it seems
true for agriculture as well. From old methods of natural farming to
using chemicals and pesticides for increasing production, many are now
turning back to the traditional methods. Health is the all encompassing
reason behind it.
With numerous scholarly papers on
health hazards of pesticide usage in food and hullabaloo created about
genetically modified vegetables, people have been forced to think twice
before buying from local department stores.
A
luscious apple might have been polished with wax, the beautiful greens
(the supreme source of wellness) might have artificial colour in them,
and behind the tempting smell of mango the sinister calcium carbide
might be at work. If health boosters become health imperilments, where
do people turn to? ‘Go organic’ seems to be the call of many.
India
for Safe Food, an electronic forum, is a movement being spearheaded by
ASHA (Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture). Working in the
area of agriculture, environment, farmer and consumer rights, the forum
has been trying to shift attention of consumers on alternative food
choices.
With no chemical, no GM as its tagline, it
has joined hands with other organisations to bring ‘safe food’ option to
people. Along with Safe Food Alliance, the forum, run by group of
volunteers, has been setting up organic food melas in various cities. Stalls put up
After
the success of the first mela in the city, the forum decided to reach
out to more people and with the help of local groups like Exnora, it
organised a safe food mela at Anna Park, United India Colony,
Kodambakkam recently.
Stalls were put up by six
organic outlets including, Dhanyam (T. Nagar), Vanilla Organic (West
Mambalam), Vendure organic, Aditya organic (Vadapalani), Restore organic
(Adyar), and Nalla Keerai (Thiruninravur).
To
encourage home grown food, special stalls on terrace gardening and
composting were also put up. A three-pot composting system was explained
to visitors as a means of converting household waste into manure for
home gardens. People were also treated to ready-to-eat food made from
organic products.
Getting very good response from
residents, Ananthoo, member of Safe Food Alliance, said, “More local
groups should come forward and help us spread this message. If we don’t
reach the grass root levels, the campaign will have no meaning at all.
The Government should also encourage opening of organic stores at the
taluk level. Safe food option should be accessible and affordable to
all.”
While many visitors said that they would make a
conscious effort to shift to organically grown food, some like
Balasubramanium, a retired engineer, said that the cost of organic food
is prohibitive. “With prices of food increasing, not many can afford to
go organic. These food items are priced high, and why spend so much on
items one can get at a less rate in department stores,” asks
Balasubramaniam.
But Ananthoo says that the demand and supply rule will apply to organic food as well.
“With
demand increasing, prices will fall automatically. Also there is
something known as fair price which determines the cost of products in
the market. Moreover, prices of organic food item are marked up only by
10 to 15 per cent.”
There were others who refused to
make any changes in their food buying habits. “How can we be sure what
organic stores sell indeed are organic,” they asked. To lend support
While
the debate on whether to stick to food sold in super markets or change
to organic alternatives goes on, people who want to lend support to
India for Safe Food can log on to indiaforsafefood.in and sign the
online petition for policy change and access to safe food. People can
also give a missed call to 022-3301 0031 in support of the cause.

Chennai
citizens can look forward to an interesting and informative Safe Food Mela
create awareness about toxic chemical residues in food and urging consumers to
switch to safe organic alternatives, this mela is the combined effort of
several non-profit organizations, youngsters spearheading the organic foods
movement and organic enterprises. The Mela is expected to be attended by
personalities from the film world, musicians, writersand intellectuals.

The
Safe Food Mela is part of a nation-wide campaign called INDIA FOR SAFE FOOD
(http://indiaforsafefood.in), which seeks to promote chemical-free farming and
alternatives to toxic technologies like synthetic pesticides and Genetically
Modified foods.India continues to use
many pesticides that have been banned in other countries and many of these are
known to be carcinogenic, endocrine-disrupting or reproductive-toxicants. Many
studies including in the public sector laboratories, show our food, water and
soil, and even breast-milk are contaminated with pesticides.

The
Mela in Kodambakkam will have organic outlets from around the city setting up
their stalls with a variety of products (fresh greens, millets, traditional
rices, honey, snacks etc.), as also food-stalls selling tasty ready to eat
organic fare.Awareness material about
toxics in foods, traditional and safe foods, and urban gardening will also be
on display.

The
Safe Food Mela promises to offer fun for the entire family, and the opportunity
to change the way you consume food. After all, as the saying goes, You Are What
You Eat! Enjoy the joys of organic food, and join the India For Safe Food Movement.
You can endorse the cause by giving a missed call on 022-3301 0031 and log on
to www.indiaforsafefood.in for
more information.

Join us on

Who are we ?

We are the alliance of physicians, lawyers, traders, human rights activists, farmers, consumers and academicians, who want to ensure safe and secure food to all, to make food safe and nourishing, to grow food that makes our soil fertile, restores our environment and secures farmers livelihoods.